Results for "google privacy"

Google's controversial new privacy policy kicked in today, stirring legal warnings from the European Union as well as Japan. EU's justice commissioner directly warned Google that its new policy breaches European law, while Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications along with the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry both published a reminder notice sent to Google's Japan subsidiary about following the country's privacy laws.

Privacy is a hot topic at Google, and chairman Eric Schmidt wasted no time in cultivating an MWC 2012 keynote around personal freedoms, the role of the internet as activist, and safeguarding of our individual information. Yet what Schmidt's appearance did show us more than anything is that the chairman is consumed with an obsession around the topic, either attempting to convinced us that we have the option of anonymity, or outlining the dance which Google follows trying to balance between the public and the private.

As the Californian Online Privacy Act extends to Mobile Apps in an effort to keep the entirety of the web-connected western-USA world safe from harm, several of the biggest names in mobile computing have jumped on board with the initiative. It's California's Office of the Attorney General that has gotten agreements from no less than Apple, Google, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and Research in Motion amongst others to "improve privacy protections on mobile apps." This extension of the Online Privacy Act in California will now protect apps for mobile devices, none of which had had any sort of similar protection previous to this change.

And so it begins. An Apple user has filed suit against Google over the alleged bypassing of privacy settings on the Safari web browser. The story broke late last week when Google and several other web companies were accused of bypassing the privacy settings on Apple's Safari browser on the iPhone and other Apple devices. Google had previously said that it would follow privacy settings that Safari uses.

Google has fired back at Microsoft over claims the search company bypasses privacy systems in Internet Explorer, arguing that its rival's P3P policies are "widely non-operational" and incompatible with today's web use. Microsoft had suggested that Google did not observe the so-called "self-declaration protocol", or P3P, which demands sites present a machine-readable version of their privacy practices. However, in a statement by senior VP of communications and policy, Rachel Whetstone, Google says Microsoft's system is outdated and over-involved, and more importantly breaks features like the Facebook "Like" button.

Hot off the news that Safari's privacy measures for users had been bypassed by Google last week, Microsoft is joining in by noting that their Internet Explorer web browser's privacy controls had been modified in a similar manner. Protection tips have been offered up by Microsoft and they've taken this opportunity to push Google into the mud once more as they continue to defend themselves against privacy naysayers. Microsoft has reportedly contacted Google to ask it to "commit to honoring P3P privacy settings for users of all browsers."

Over the past few weeks Google has found itself in some hot water over its Privacy Policy changes on its wide range of websites, today being called by Consumer Watchdog to testify on the matter. Consumer Watchdog has called Google CEO Larry Page to the House Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee Committee as they hold hearings on the new Google privacy and data policies. Both subcommittee Chair Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) and Ranking Member G.K Butterfield, (D-NC) have been called in a letter sent today.

Google has reportedly been caught bypassing privacy settings that Apple has in place on the web browser it uses on the iPhone and Mac computers. Google isn’t alone in bypassing the privacy settings reports the Wall Street Journal. Apparently, several other advertising firms have been caught doing this as well. Google and others are reportedly using special code that tricks the Apple Safari browser into allowing the monitoring of a user online.

If you're willing to let Google track you like a hawk over an extended period, the online search giant is willing to pay you $25. That is, $5 for signing up and then $5 in monthly installments if you continue to feel like you don't deserve any privacy on the Internet. Oh, and that's not in cash either. It's paid in a series of Amazon.com gift cards. It's not exactly break-the-bank kind of money, but it is probably incentive enough to draw in a pretty significant user base.

A European privacy watchdog has demanded Google halt its privacy policy changes, while it looks into "the possible consequences for the protection of the personal data" of users in Europe. The Article 29 Data Protection Working Party requested the delay in a letter to Google [pdf link] this week, claiming that a French data protection authority had agreed to investigate Google's changes. The controversy follows similar concerns in the US, which saw Google execs meet with members of Congress earlier this week for a less-than-satisfactory show and tell session.